VIA Leads the IntelÒ Pentium 4 Processor Platform into the Mainstream with the Launch of the VIA Apollo P4X266 Chipset

Combines high bandwidth DDR SDRAM support with Unique VIA Modular Architecture Platform (V-MAP) to provide the most balanced and scaleable solution for building affordable, high performance IntelÒ PentiumÒ 4 processor based systems

Taipei, Taiwan, 15th August 2001 - VIA Technologies, Inc today announced that it has commenced volume shipments of the VIA Apollo P4X266, the first core logic chipset on the market to leverage the industry-leading performance, compatibility, and low power consumption of high-bandwidth DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM for the IntelÒ PentiumÒ 4 processor platform.

"The launch of the VIA Apollo P4X266 further extends the leadership role that VIA has played in enabling rapid industry wide transitions to higher performance memory technologies across all processor platforms," commented Wenchi Chen, President and CEO, VIA Technologies, Inc. "With its support for DDR SDRAM, the P4X266 leads the IntelÒ PentiumÒ 4 processor platform into the mainstream market by providing OEMs and SIs with the most balanced and scaleable solution for building higher performance and more affordable IntelÒ PentiumÒ 4 processor based systems."

VIA Apollo P4X266 Chipset

The VIA Apollo P4X266 combines a high-speed 400MHz Front Side Bus with support for up to 4GB of high-speed DDR266 SDRAM to fully exploit the high bandwidth of the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, yielding performance gains of up to 15% on industry standard benchmarks such as WinstoneÒ and Quake 3 demo when compared with equivalently configured systems featuring alternative core logic chipset and memory solutions.

With its support for DDR266 SDRAM, the VIA Apollo P4X266 optimizes system performance by doubling the memory data throughput to a peak bandwidth of 2.1GB per second while maintaining the same cost structure as PC133 SDRAM. It also enables OEMs and SIs to achieve significant savings in overall platform costs compared to Intel® Pentium® 4 processor based systems featuring RDRAM technology. Based on current pricing, RDRAM modules are more than twice as expensive as DDR or PC133 SDRAM modules with the same capacity.

To maximize the number of configuration options, the VIA Apollo P4X266 supports a choice of 423-pin and the forthcoming 478-pin versions of the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, as well as PC133 SDRAM. It also comes with a host of additional performance features, including AGP 4X, ATA 100 support, and the high speed V-Link bus that doubles communication bandwidth between the North and South Bridge to 266MB per second.

VIA Modular Architecture Platform

The flexibility of the VIA Apollo P4X266 is further enhanced by the unique VIA Modular Architecture Platform (V-MAP), which allows customers to couple the North Bridge with a variety of South Bridge chips depending on their required feature sets. These include the VT8233 and the VT8233C, which features an integrated 3Com 10/100Mb Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) as well as built-in AC'97 audio, MC'97 modem support, 6 USB ports, and Advanced Power Management.

V-MAP also ensures a seamless future migration path to the forthcoming VIA Apollo P4M266 integrated North Bridge, which is pin-to-pin compatible with the VIA Apollo P4X266. This enables OEMs and SIs save costs and speed time to market by offering systems covering a full spectrum of system price points using a single motherboard platform.

VIA Apollo P4X266 Pricing & Availability

The VIA Apollo P4X266 chipset is manufactured by S3 Graphics, and is priced at $34 in OEM quantities. A photo and product backgrounder is available upon request. Please contact VIA for more information.